Easy Maple Pouding Chômeur

You don’t have to visit a sugar shack to enjoy this iconic Québécois dessert! Instead, you have the convenient option of making it right at home with the help of our Farm Boy™ Pancake Mix. Gooey, buttery, and moist, it’s sweetened with our 100% pure Ontario Amber Maple Syrup. Enjoy it as a decadent breakfast or a rustic dessert this maple season!  

What is Pouding Chômeur? 

Pouding chômeur is a classic French-Canadian dessert that features a cake-like batter and a maple syrup sauce. The sauce sinks to the bottom of the cake as it bakes and rises, transforming this dish into a delicious, rich pudding flavoured with a maple cream. 

This traditional treat was originally created in the 1920s as a budget-friendly way to satisfy sweet tooths. In fact, that’s what the name “pouding chômeur” means: “poor man’s pudding”. Made with simple, humble ingredients that can be found in your pantry (and on Farm Boy shelves), this beloved dessert is popular across Québec and features regularly in restaurants and sugar shacks. Although it may not be familiar to you just yet, we promise that this pouding chômeur recipe is simple to make and wonderful to eat! 

Ingredients Needed for Pouding Chômeur 

Maple syrup: The main flavour of this pouding chômeur recipe is maple syrup. Rich, sweet, and rated Canada Grade A, we bring you closer to the farm by using pure Ontario maple syrup. We opted for our Amber Maple Syrup to sweeten this classic French-Canadian dessert, since it has a more robust, maple-forward flavour. Do not use artificial syrups as you won’t achieve the same results. Real maple syrup is called “Canada’s liquid gold” for a reason! 

Whipping cream: Whipping cream—also known as heavy cream and not to be confused with whipped cream—helps make the gorgeous maple syrup mixture that the cake is soaked in. We want something at 35% M.F. for the best texture, as other lighter creams won’t give as rich a mouthfeel. 

Butter: For a tender crumb and rich, buttery texture, we need butter, of course! You can use salted or unsalted varieties in this recipe, since this pouding chômeur doesn’t use any additional salt. If you are using unsalted butter, you may want to add a pinch of salt to help balance the flavours. (Don’t worry, maple syrup and sugar will still ensure this dessert is plenty sweet.) 

Sugar: In addition to the sweetness of the maple syrup, we also use some sugar to mix into the cake and give it its characteristic flavour and texture. Only 1/3 of a cup of sugar is added to the recipe because our Pancake Mix also contains sugar and we don’t want this pouding chômeur to veer into cloying territory. We’ve used white sugar in this recipe for the best incorporation with the other ingredients. 

Eggs: Due to the easy convenience of our Pancake Mix, we also only need one egg for this dessert. Eggs at room temperature will yield the best results for baking, so remove them from your fridge at least one hour before beginning. 

Pancake mix: The secret ingredient in this pouding chômeur recipe is none other than Pancake Mix! Instead of measuring out flour, baking powder, and salt for the base of your batter, our Pancake Mix is conveniently ready to go! Prepared in Canada, it comes in a handy resealable bag so you can simply use what you need and then store it for maximum freshness.  

Milk: Adding enough moisture to the pouding chômeur batter is crucial, because this self-saucing dessert is meant to taste moist, not dry. 2% or whole milk is ideal for this recipe to get the best texture and keep the flavours wonderfully rich. 

Tips for the Best Pouding Chômeur 

Use high quality maple syrup: At Farm Boy, we’re proud to offer high-quality, pure Canadian maple syrup. Harvested right here in Ontario, our syrup is rich, authentic, and sweet. This pouding chômeur is our twist on the classic French-Canadian dessert and to truly do it justice, we have to use the real deal. Rated Grade A, we chose our amber maple syrup for a more robust, bolder, and maple-forward taste. With maple syrup as the star, you want the best quality maple syrup available, and that’s what you’ll find at Farm Boy! 

Use heavy cream: The other ingredient in the maple cream mixture that sweetens this treat is, of course, cream. While you may be tempted to lighten things up with half-and-half or a cream with a lower milkfat content, this is not the recipe to do so. We want a rich, silky maple cream and to achieve that we use whipping cream. With a 35% M.F., it provides a luxurious mouthfeel that infuses beautifully into the cake portion of this dessert. 

Don’t overmix: One of the best parts of this pouding chômeur is how light it is. To make sure you achieve the best texture, don’t overmix your batter. Overmixing leads to a dense, tough cake. Instead, simply mix the ingredients until they’re combined, but no more than that. 

Serve warm: Sweet, sticky, and golden brown, it’ll be hard to stop yourself from enjoying this dessert right out of the oven—and you won’t have to! Pouding chômeur is best served warm when the syrup mixture is still soft and gooey. You can make this dessert in individual ramekins as we’ve done here or use a baking dish with high sides and use a large serving spoon to scoop. Garnish with some fresh berries for a beautiful contrasting tartness and a rich scoop of Farm Boy™ Vanilla Ice Cream and enjoy! 

More Maple Syrup Recipes from Farm Boy 

Looking for more recipes that use maple syrup? Check out any of the dishes below! 

Maple Almond Cheesecake 

Roasted Maple Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta 

Maple Cookie Affogato 

Maple BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches 

Creamy Maple Rice Pudding 

Maple Peameal Bacon Breakfast Sandwich 

More Rustic Dessert Recipes from Farm Boy 

Looking for more easy dessert recipes? Check out any of the dishes below! 

Peach, Ginger, and Almond Crumble 

Cherry Clafoutis 

Rhubarb & Wild Blueberry Hand Pies 

Old Fashioned Pear Spice Cake 

Summer Fruit Coffee Cake 

Mixed Berry Strata 

Clementine Olive Oil Cake 

Almond Apple Cranberry Crumble 

Baked Nutty Caramel Apples